Mitch Billis, Woton’s Lobster Pound, oil on canvas, 24x32”
Mitch Billis, Woton’s Lobster Pound, oil on canvas, 24×32”

Gleason Fine Art at 31 Townsend Avenue in Boothbay Harbor opens its new winter show: “Celebrating Winter: Paintings by Gallery Artists.” The show runs through Saturday, March 4. Winter hours at the gallery are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm, and other times by appointment. For more information, call Gleason Fine Art at 207-633-6849, email the gallery at info@gleasonfineart.com, or view “Celebrating Winter” and the gallery’s entire inventory of contemporary and estate art at www.gleasonfineart.com.

For some, winter is a dull time dominated by shades of gray and white. For artists who live in and love Maine, winter is a quieter time, a time to explore the natural world and see it afresh. Blankets of snow soften the landscape, shards of river ice turn the shore into a cubist wonderland, and the cold, clear light intensifies the blues of sea and sky. Even an overcast day can end with an explosion of color as the setting sun stripes the sky and transforms the clouds into a thousand shades of pink and yellow.

“Celebrating Winter” includes paintings by renowned artists Janice Anthony, Mitch Billis, Tom Curry, Andrea Peters, and  Kevin Beers. With their art, Anthony, Billis, Curry, Peters, and Beers all celebrate Maine in winter. It is a quiet Maine, absent the crowds and hustle and bustle of summer. It is also a Maine of unearthly beauty, something that must be seen and experienced to be understood.